Tread Lightly
by The Writer Es
Summary: Sequel to Reincarnation. With Brian and Toby's wedding on the horizon, our heroes are hoping for a bit of a break. Yeah, that's not going to happen. New villians arise, and some people from the past show up. No, literally from the past. Yup, just another day for the New Avengers. Cover done by me.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm baaaaaccckkkk! Yes, yes, I know how excited you are *sarcasm*, but let me just say, thank you to every single one of you guys who read/reviewed/favorited/followed the previous story, _Reincarnation_**.** This is the sequel, if you can't tell, and if you haven't read the first one, I suggest that you do so, or you will be very confused. Enjoy the first chapter of _Tread Lightly_!**

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~BRIAN~

_Brian stared at the beautiful woman across from him, feeling elated. He never thought that they would make it to today, what with all the work he and his fiancé had been putting in. You'd think that all the evildoers would realize that they couldn't beat the Hulk, Ironman, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Thor, and the newest member, Spider-man, and would just give up. They don't. Which is why this moment, _this moment_, was so wonderful, so important. It was the day of Brian's wedding._

_"I, Brian Henry Barnes, take you Toby to be my wife, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our union and love you more each day than I did the day before. I will trust you and respect you, laugh with you and cry with you, loving you faithfully through good times and bad, regardless of the obstacles we may face together. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love, from this day forward for as long as our souls exist." he recited from memory, gazing at his beautiful bride._

_But his beautiful bride, the love of his life, was no longer the woman standing before him. In her place stood a lovely woman with dark hair and striking blue eyes. She was giving him a saddened look. "What about me, Bruce?" she said, frowning. "Did you forget all about me?"_

_"I, I don't know who you are." Brian told her, feeling confused. "I'm not Bruce anymore. Bruce died." But he sort of _was_ Bruce, due to reincarnation. "Please, I'm not Bruce."_

_The woman shook her head. "I believed in you," she said simply._

And that was when Brian woke up. His dream confused him. It had been five years since he had discovered that he, Brian Barnes, was the reincarnation of Doctor Robert Bruce Banner, also known as the Hulk. For some reason, reincarnation also gave Brian all of the Hulk's powers, which made for a very complicated life. He managed, however, with the help of his brother Cliff (the reincarnation of Hawkeye), his friends Stephanie and Nathan (Captain America and Black Widow, respectively), his teammates Thor (you all know who he is) and Peter (Spider-man), and his fiancé, his wonderful Toby. She was the reincarnation of Tony Stark (Ironman), which was sort of strange, but you get used to it.

It had been four years since his last 'other life' dream. Although this wasn't technically an other life dream, because those dreams were actual scenes from Dr. Banner's life. Those got rather disturbing when he 'remembered' Dr. Banner's death.

Brian slid his legs out of the dark purple and gray plaid duvet covers and sat at the edge of his bed. He had actually dreamed about his and Toby's wedding many times since she had said yes, but this one made him feel weird. Like he was cheating on that girl in his dream. Which was absurd, because he'd only dated a couple of girls before Toby, and he wasn't serious with any of them.

Oh, well. He was up, he might as well get some breakfast before Thor and Cliff ate it all. If that did happen, it would not be the first time.

He walked into the kitchen to find Stephanie making pancakes. He tried to grab a cooked one out of the pan, but she slapped his hand with a spatula.

"Don't even think about it, bub." she said without turning around.

Brian rubbed his hand and sat down at the kitchen table. Today was not going to be a very good day.

"Good morning, world!" Toby shouted as she entered the kitchen. "We have a busy day planed, Steph, so hurry and eat your pancakes and meet me in the red car!" She then promptly ran out.

Brian turned to Stephanie, who was scowling into the pan. "What was that all about?" he asked her.

Stephanie sighed. "I lost a bet, and now I have to take Toby wedding dress shopping." she said unhappily.

"…And that's bad because?" Cliff asked as he sat down beside his brother.

Stephanie gave him a look. "It's _Toby_," she said, emphasizing on Toby's name.

Cliff nodded. "Point taken. Hey, where's Nate?"

"Um, I think he went out with Peter, he said something about renting a tux." Stephanie replied.

Brian was no longer paying attention to their conversation, as Agent Phil Coulson had just entered the room. "Hey, Phil," he said, "can I talk to you for a moment? Um, in private?"

Coulson raised an eyebrow. "I don't see why not," he said with a slight shrug. He and Brian walked into the living room. "Alright, what is it that you need, Brian?"

Brian rubbed his wrist. "Well, I don't know why I've never thought to ask you or Fury this before, but was Dr. Banner… was he romantically involved with anyone before his death?" he asked, feeling awkward.

Coulson nodded. "Yes, he had a girl, around the same time that he had his 'accident'." he informed Brian.

"Oh, um, what was her name? And what did she look like?"

"Are you trying to stalk someone, Brian?"

"Just answer the question, please."

"Elizabeth Ross, known to her friends as Betty. She had dark hair and… blue eyes, I think… What is this really about, Brian?"

"I think I had a dream about her." Brian said solemly.

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**Poor Brian :( Well, the desicion to put Betty Ross in here goes to **gammawidow67, **who suggested it. I've never seen either of the Hulk movies, nor have I read any comics involving her, but she won't be too much involved, so don't worry about that. Anyway, I'll post some pics of Toby's wedding dress on my deviantART later, so keep an eye out for that (if you want to find my deviantART account, it's on my bio page). Also, the poll on weather or not I should stay somewhat cannon with TASM2, or keep Gwen Stacy alive (SPOILERS, OOPS!) has been taken down. The results are that she's gonna die. Sorry, Gwen. Well, please let me know what you thought. R&R!**

**~Es**


	2. Chapter 2: The One

**I am so so so so so so so so _so_ sorry about the long wait! I haven't updated this since the beginning of last month, but I actually have a good excuse: I had to fill in for one of the girls at work for the first week of summer break, and then work was just making me so tired, and then I went to Seattle with some friends, and _then_ I had five days before I left for Costa Rica (Los Catalinas, baby!), and, quite frankly, I just didn't feel like writing. I was mostly reading fanfiction, but you know, I just didn't want to write anything. Like I said, I'm sorry. It's 12:30 PM here, and I'm wide awake, and I finally decided to write something. It's a _short_ something, but at least I updated, right? Well, I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter!**

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS:**

gammawidow67**: Hi! It was? Thank you so much, that makes me feel good. Sequels are hard to do :P And, no, you have a wonderful story, and are an amazing author, though I'm touched that you think so 3**

Claire **(Guest): Thanks! Don't worry, I don't plan to abandon it, though updates will be (very) slow. And I hope that you read the first one :)**

**And now, with that out of the way, it is time for the...**

**DISCLAIMER: Take a look at my profile picture. Go on, look. Do I look like Stan Lee to you? If, for some bizarre reason, you _do_ think that I look like Stan Lee, then please head to your nearest eye doctor. Or mental hospital.**

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"Can you please just choose one, Toby?" Stephanie practically begged Toby. They had been wedding dress browsing for over three hours, and Stephanie, although she was usually a very patient person, was getting agitated. Stupid bet. Stupid Nate. It wasn't _her _fault that Loki didn't find it amusing that she, well, some things were better off not being said.

Toby paused her browsing of a rack, turning to face Steph and stick out her tongue, and then return to her hunt. "I've found it!" she cried triumphantly a few moments later, holding it out for Stephanie to see.

It was floor length and very white (duh), with a square neckline and an a-line silhouette with a natural waist. The cap sleeves were edged with a gold ribbon, as was the neckline, and there was a gold sash around the waist.

"I could put something red with the sash," Toby mused as Stephanie checked the price. She gave a low whistle.

"That is a lot of money." she stated.

Toby snorted. "We live in Stark Tower and are a part of the freaking _Avengers_, Stephanie." she said. "I think that we can pay for a _dress._"

Stephanie pursed her lips, but said nothing; it was better not to argue with Toby. When she sees something that she wants, she gets it.

Toby got one of the attendants to help her try the dress on, and when she was satisfied, the dress was bought.

"I'll keep it in my closet, so Bri doesn't see it. Well, hopefully. I mean, why would he go looking through my closet?" Toby laughed as she and Steph left the store with the dress in a blue garment bag.

"Why, indeed." Stephanie replied.

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"A dream about her? Was it one of Dr. Banner's memories, like the others?" Coulson asked.

Brian shook his head. "No, it was different. I was getting married to Toby, and then _she_ shows up and wants to know why I don't remember her, and then when I told her I didn't know her, she was all like, _'I believed in you_', or something like that!" Brian said, running his hands through his dark hair as he paced around._  
_

Coulson raised an eyebrow. "I may not be a psychiatrist anymore," he began, "but it sounds like your subconscious, or in this case, Dr. Banner, remembers Ms. Ross and is, well, confused, about this whole ordeal."

Brian stopped pacing. "Maybe if I saw this Elizabeth girl-"

"Betty. Dr. Banner called her Betty."

"Yes, Betty. Maybe if I saw her or talked to her, or _something_, I could get rid of the feeling that I... actually, I'm not quite sure what this feeling is, but it's unpleasant." he said.

Coulson thought about that for a moment. "Perhaps. I'll talk to Fury about it." He put his hand on Brian's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze, a sign of their growing bond, before leaving the room.

Brian plopped onto the couch and groaned with his head in his hands. _'There is no way I'm going to tell Toby about this dream,'_ he vowed silently to himself, _'she'd kick my ass!'_

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**_WEEEEEEEEELLLLL?_ What did you guys think? Honestly, it wasn't one of my favorite chapters that I've done, but oh well. Love ya all!**

**~Es**


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